Long Hot Summer....and not over yet!

It has been a long time since I posted on here, I apologise for that....I didn't have the heart for it back in July when we lost our little dog and then things just got busy!  I threw myself into sewing for a while and time just rushed by.  I can hardly believe that we are almost at the end of September already.  

The weather here continues to be beautiful and sunny but you can tell that it is 'Autumn' because of the change in the quality of light and the way the sun doesn't stay as long on the one spot that I like to sit in to catch a few rays on my deck 🌝

Back to the sewing though.  I did a trade with a dolly friend in the UK, she sent me a cute doll that she no longer wanted and I made outfits for two of her dolls.  The doll I received is Winona by the American artist Connie Lowe.  I wasn't sure that I would like the doll at first, but when she arrived I really liked her face.  I wasn't over keen on her body shape, she has a very big tummy, but I can work with it.  Here are some photos of her, she hasn't got a name yet...maybe she will just be called Winona.

This is how she looked when she arrived.

I didn't think the red wig did her any favours so I changed that and her eyes.  I saw her as being an Asian child and decided to give her brown eyes....it's funny but most of my BJDs seem to end up with  brown eyes, regardless of their ethnicity, I just love brown eyes.

I don't think this girl is pretty but I do think she has an interesting face.  For me pretty dolls are great, I love how they look but sometimes....sometimes they're just that, pretty..and pretty sometimes gets boring, so hopefully this interestingly faced little girl will have lots of adventures here with me in sunny Spain.

So here are some of the outfits that I made for the trade, the first ones are for the little Olivia doll by Helen Kish.  Olivia is one of my favourite dolls and it was nice to sew for her for a change, even if my own Olivia didn't get to keep the outfits!

Summer dress with short socks....

Striped overalls in pale blue and white, with gingham 'accents', red cropped tee shirt and head scarf...

Skirt in lovely Japanese print fabric, with white with pink hearts knit 'body/leotard' and short striped socks...
 

Machine embroidered smock type dress with matching loose shorts underneath...

The next two outfits are for my friend's new Kaye Wiggs Missy doll so my KW tanned Layla, being the same size, is modelling for me....

First we have a simple summer dress with a simple ribbon bow for her hair....

And finally my friend liked the Japanese print so much that she asked if I could make something for her Missy in the same fabric.

This outfit consists of skirt, short sleeved tee shirt, hoodie with front zip opening and socks....

Another of my lovely dolly friends got her first BJD recently and she had nothing in this size for her new girls.  I made the following outfits for her....her doll is off having a new face up at the moment so she's not able to wear them until she is all put back together again, but hopefully she'll be happy with the fit.

Firstly this little dress which I actually made by downsizing a Sasha pattern!

 
 Then I made this outfit for a boy doll....Tyrone, my tanned Little Fee Ante is my 'boy' model!

My friend wanted a tutu and so I cheated and made this 'no sew' tulle skirt with printed tee shirt and ankle warmers....

I believe I made some other things too, but it's possible I forgot to photograph them!

Another dear dolly friend of mine in the UK got some gifts for her girls...a flowery summer dress....

Flowered shorts and machine embroidered tee shirt....Shorts are made of cotton pique.

Shorts have a big bow on the back....

I also made the same shorts in a spotted cotton pique too....but forgot to photograph those.

Finally I made an outfit for one of my own girls, well actually I made this first but never got around to showing it on here!!

Erin, my Harucasting Eminor, got herself a nice summer outfit consisting of shorts and cotton top....

I have more doll news but will keep that for another post.  I hope you've all enjoyed seeing my girls modelling for me and that you've enjoyed your summer :) 

Thanks for visiting, big hugs Sharon xxx

Rainy Day, Dolly Play...

This morning we woke to rain and as the day went on, so the rain got heavier, to the point that we needed our lights on in the middle of the day!  It doesn't rain that often here in southern Spain but when it does, my goodness does it rain!

I'd planned on taking some outside photos but with the awful weather that wasn't to be, so I decided to set up my indoor 'studio' lights and the second backdrop that I received a couple of months ago from Ebay.  You may remember I posted about the first of the two backdrops here:  

If-you-go-down-to-woods-today   

So the second backdrop arrived and was more similar to the first one than I remembered but that wasn't a problem as they are very cheap.  It needed ironing as, like the first one to arrive, it had been folded down to fit into a smallish envelope.  I used my iron on a cooler setting as the backdrops are sort of plasticised fabric, and I didn't want to burn it.  This one is not as good as the first one though as it has paint/printing missing on the creases, but I guess for the cheap price, what could I really expect! 

I have been changing some of my ball jointed dolls into warmer clothing, so thought I'd use the backdrop to take some photos of the girls in their winter wear.  I attached the backdrop to the wall with poster tack and then, as suggested by Sandi of Xanadu Dolls blog I used the ironing board as the 'table' for the dolls to stand on, and I set up the two photographic lights on their tripod stands.

First to have her photo taken was my Fairyland Mini Fee tanned Chloe, with her German Shepherd dog.....I think there is too much light in this photo but when I turned off the lights, so there were shadows created which made the backdrop look very artificial.  The backdrop has sunrays coming from the top left hand corner as you can see.  This is supposed to represent sunshine coming through the trees.  I believe it looks too artificial and unnatural....(any suggestions gratefully received!!!)

Next up we have Dylan, my Little Cosmos Dolls Robin, wearing a different wig.  I'm not sure it's 'her' but will keep it on for a while.  I think I'll probably go back to the red plaited wig in the end!

Riley Mai, (Ppinkydolls Malisa) hasn't had any camera time in ages, so I took a few photos of her too.  I changed her eyes from brown to these two toned, blue/green eyes.   I'm actually thinking of changing her body from her original resin one to a hard plastic Pure Neemo one....so watch this space! 

 

This poor girl hasn't had a change of clothes in probably a couple of years!!!  So I think that'll be my job for the next few days, find her another outfit that suits (and fits!) her!

Next up we have tiny little Marley, (Tanned Meng version 4 by Secretdoll) who I had been thinking of selling as I couldn't 'bond' with her.  I decided to change her wig and eyes and as soon as I saw her in this wig so I realised just how cute she is, she just hadn't found her 'style'!!!.....she will be staying!!!

Finally we have Gala (Adori in Milky tan by Harucasting).  Gala has had several changes of clothing over the summer but I kept forgetting to photograph her.  But now she is in her winter outfit looking all cosy and warm!

I think what I've learned this photo session is that the studio lights are great for eliminating the shadows behind the dolls but I've come across other challenges.  The dolls look a little bit pale and washed out and the colours do not 'pop' like outside photos do for me.  Also, the tripods on the lights are not really tall enough for the dolls when they are standing on the ironing board, I need to take it all a little lower.  So here we have two studio lights, one on either side of the dolls, and an overhead spotlight bulb in the ceiling.  I didn't use the flash in any of these photos, so it really is purely the studio lights. I think I need to find a way of defusing them!  

Well I hope you've enjoyed seeing some of my little girls today.  I will change some more soon and take more photos....hopefully the weather will be dry and I can go back to taking them outside.

Have a great week ahead!

Big hugs Sharon xx

This and That.....

I've had a busy couple of weeks so my blog has had to take a back seat, but finally I had a little bit of dolly time and took the opportunity to change the clothes on a few girls as well as the wig on another.

Firstly Chloe my tanned Fairyland Mini Fee got a change of clothes and wig.  The great thing with this doll is she fits clothing made for the Ellowyne dolls by Robert Tonner, so here she is wearing the cutest jacket from his company, trousers from Elfdoll and a crop top which I've had for ages.  Her lovely Mary Jane shoes are custom made by a lady here in Spain.

Sam, my tiny Elfdoll Hana Angel with her replacement Jerry Berry body, changed into her torn jeans, a long tee shirt and her special cable knitted beanie....

Gala, my Milky Tan Adori by Harucasting, received a very cute gift of a Chihuahua teeshirt from my dear friend Sue in the UK, and she's been dying to show it off to you!  Unfortunately it was a bit chilly so she had to put her coat on to go outside and have her photos taken but hopefully soon she'll be able to wear it with her shorts and sandals!

Scarlett, my customised Kidz n Cats Alice, got to go out to the Bio Parc in Fuengirola last week, so here are a few photos of her enjoying the aquarium and the sunshine there....although it was quite cold, so she was dressed for the weather!

Leone, my Zwergnase Junior Violet, went for a walk by the lake in La Viñuela, it was a lovely day, one of the first really sunny days we've had recently....the lake is looking a bit fuller after all the rain too, although it's still very low unfortunately.

The lake definitely looks beautiful though.....

In other news, I have continued with my morning walks, although we've had some very changeable weather recently so I've made good use of the treadmill and weights at the gym.  Here are some photos from my walks....despite rain and high winds, we have also had some beautiful sunshine, so there are definite signs of spring around here!!

El Torre de Jarral....is a watch tower which sits high on the cliff overlooking the coastal road and the beach below.  It is believed to be from the  13th to 14th centuries.  I often walk up to the tower and have shown close up photos of it in the past,  but on this occasion I walked inland so that I could get a good view of it from a similar height....according to my fitness watch, the climb up to the base of the tower is the equivalent of walking up about 25+ flights of stairs!

Due to all the rain, one of my routes now has a stream running along the track which me and Lucy, my Miniature Pinscher, have to jump over a few times.....it is quite fast running, crystal clear water and approx one metre wide in places and several centimetres deep!

I spotted this rainbow a few days ago....

And some very threatening looking grey clouds!

Finally some beautiful blue skies!  These two photos were taken in the olive groves high above the coast, it was peaceful and warm, with just the sound of the birds for company.....

The sea is just visible through the olive trees....

Signs of spring!  The first poppies that I've seen this year....

And loads of daisies everywhere!

Well I hope you've enjoyed seeing some of my photos! 

Thank you for visiting!

 I wish you all a very Happy Easter, or  Feliz Pascua as they say here in Spain.  

Big hugs Sharon xx